COVID-19: Evacuation of
700 Nigerians from US begins May 10 ON MAY 5, 20208:04 AMIN NEWS
Evacuation of Nigerians stranded in the U.S.
due to the novel coronavirus pandemic is to begin on May 10, according to the
Consulate-General of Nigeria in New York.
By: Oluwatosin Popoola
For Hilltop RadioTv.
The consulate-general
disclosed this in a notice signed by the Consul-General, Mr Benaoyagha Okoyen,
on behalf of the Nigerian Missions in the U.S., on Sunday. According to the
notice, no fewer than 700 Nigerians have registered with the missions in the
U.S. for evacuation, which will be done in batches. It said that the first
batch of 270 evacuees would be transported to Abuja through an Ethiopian
Airlines flight ET
509. READ ALSO:
COVID-19: Kano evacuates 524 Almajiri children to Jigawa The plane is expected
to depart the Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey at 9.15p.m.,
and fly directly to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
As earlier announced by the Federal Government, the
flight is at the expense of the evacuees, who will all fly economy class,
according to the notice. “The projected cost for the one-way economy ticket is
between 1,300 dollars (N488,800) and 1,700 dollars (N639,200) per adult.
“Please note that over 700 Nigerian nationals have registered with our missions
in the USA to be evacuated. “However, only 270 passengers shall be accommodated
in this batch of evacuation. “Missions will, therefore, attend to applicants on
a first come, first served basis and shall prioritise the list of evacuees
according to their immigration status. “This includes the need to consider
those stranded with proof of short stay visas, the elderly, families with
children and returning students,” it said. In an interview with the News Agency
of Nigeria, NAN, in New York, Okoyen said the dates for subsequent batches
would be announced in due course. To curb the spread of COVID-19, the Federal
Government on March 18 imposed restrictions on travels from 13 countries with
high burdens. The countries are China, Iran, South Korea, Germany, Italy, U.S.
United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, France, Japan,
Australia and Sweden. Consequently, many Nigerians, who were on short-term
visits to the affected countries, became stranded.
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